I need to do something with my life....

[Indadhanu]

Ok. I've had a look at the USQ site. As a NZ citizen living in Australia, they consider you a domestic student, and say that you are eligible for a Commonwealth Supported Place, which means the government will pay a portion of your fees and you are liable for the rest, BUT you aren't eligible for a HELP-HECS loan so you need to pay the fees upfront.

Wuote from the USQ site... Student contribution amount

Student contribution amount

The student contribution amount is the financial contribution Commonwealth supported students make towards their higher education.

For eligible students this charge is either paid up-front or deferred through a government loan (HECS-HELP) and paid later through the Australian Tax Office once a student's yearly wage reaches a government determined threshold.
How much are student contribution amounts?

Student contribution amounts vary depending on the year you commenced your program and in what courses you enrol.

Actual student contribution amounts are available for each USQ course via the 2010 Course Fee Finder, or you may access the student contributions by band for commonwealth supported students.
Am I entitled to any discounts?

If you are an Australian citizen or holder of a permanent humanitarian visa, the options are available to:

*
pay up-front and receive a 20% discount
*
make a partial up-front payment of $500 or more and receive a 20% discount, with the remainder deferred through the Australian Tax Office.

Can I defer my student contribution?

The options available to you when paying your student contribution, depend on your citizenship or residency status:

Australian citizens and holders of a permanent humanitarian visa

If you fall into this category you are eligible for Government assistance called HECS-HELP. You can either:

*
defer payment of your student contribution and pay it later through the Australian Tax Office once your yearly wage reaches a government determined level
*
pay up-front
*
make a partial up-front payment and defer the balance to HECS-HELP

New Zealand citizens and holders of an Australian Permanent Residency visa living in Australia

If you are a New Zealand citizen or the holder of an Australian permanent resident visa (with the exception of permanent humanitarian visa holders) you will be required to pay your student contribution up-front as you will not qualify for a HECS-HELP loan. Up-front payments will not attract a discount. Failure to make your upfront payment by the census date will result in cancellation of your enrolment.

New Zealand citizens and holders of an Australian Permanent Residency visa living outside Australia

If you are a New Zealand citizen or the holder of an Australian permanent residency visa and live outside Australia you are not eligible for a Commonwealth Supported place and must pay full fee tuition/direct fees.

I had a look and as a Commonwealth Supported student, it ends up being about $650 per subject. So a nursing degree would end up about $16,000. That probably seems daunting BUT if you think about it in weekly payments... one semester is 13 weeks. So if you were paying for one subject weekly, that's about $50 a week. So to study part-time (2 subjects) is $100 a week per semester.

I'll keep looking around and come back